In a world of QR code menus and takeout meals, it's easy to forget that menus — both the physical objects and the dishes they list — for centuries played an important symbolic role. The "A World of Menus" exhibit that opened in Rome last week at the Garum Library and Museum of Cuisine lays out some 400 menus from major private and public collections. They offer a fascinating glimpse into defining moments of diplomatic aspirations, displays of wealth and power, creative acts of defiance and calm before catastrophe. "We tried to put together an exhibit where you can see...